The bead area of the tire is designed to serve several purposes. The area from the bead toe to the outside of the bead resting adjacent to the wheel flange is the only part of the tire in contact with the wheel and must transmit the full torque developed by the vehicle through the tire to the pavement. This torque can be due to acceleration or deceleration of the vehicle. This area of contact is also designed to hold the tire onto the wheel in spite of severe lateral and longitudinal forces. Component gauges and characteristics in this area are also important as they affect the tire's ride and handling performance, uniformity and durability. Finally, this area must also act as a barrier to seal against air loss.
Rim slip and tire uniformity are two characteristics that are related to tire vibration. To eliminate issues of tire vibration, it has been known in the art to modify the elastomeric compositions to act as damping means, to include damping means to absorb tire vibration, and to apply balancing weights to counter non-uniformity.